“A vibrant, safe nightlife is good for business and good for public safety,” Mayor Mike McGinn said in a press release Monday. “The City Council’s approval of this resolution follows a broad public outreach over the past year about how extended liquor service hours should work in Seattle… I’m confident that by working together with the Washington State Liquor Control Board, we can achieve our goals of a more safe and vibrant city.”
The resolution launches a two-step process to extend service hours:
The resolution asks the LCB to build a regulatory framework to consider and approve petitions from cities to allow extended liquor service.
If these proposed rule changes are adopted, Mayor McGinn, the City Council, and the City Attorney can then work with the public to craft a specific proposal for extended hours service in Seattle.
A number of other local leaders have come out in support of the initiative, including City Council president Richard Conlin, Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, and City Attorney Pete Holmes.
“We believe that this initiative will strengthen public safety as well as promote a vibrant nightlife. We fully support this effort,“ Diaz said in a statement. Given that police resources are often challenged at Seattle’s blanket 2 a.m. closing time, many in law enforcement say this, along with other components of the Initiative, will help them maintain public safety and allow them to deploy officers more effectively. Last August the city passed another initiative aimed at helping combat difficult closing times allowing officers to dish out $100 tickets for fighting, threatening others, or making excessive or “unreasonable noise” in public areas between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.
“The City Attorney’s Office will work with the Mayor, SPD and the City Council to ensure that the proposed rule changes provide comprehensive safeguards that will ensure public safety,” Holmes said. “The extended hours program will succeed if we anticipate and plan for problems that may arise.”
According to the city, the rule change application will be submitted to the Liquor Control Board in the next few weeks, at which point the LCB will have 60 days to decide whether or not it will initiate the rule making process. Mayor McGinn says he is hopeful that the extended service hours proposal will be approved and ready for implementation in Seattle in 2012.
A 13-year-old Queen Anne boy has been missing since yesterday, Wednesday, April 6. Brad George, who lives at the McGraw Residential Center, part of the Seattle Children’s Home, was last on Wednesday at 11:40 a.m. seen near the center, at 10th and McGraw, according to his mother Gina Latshaw.
Brad is 5’1”, 128 pounds, a medium build with blue eyes, dark brown hair and light complexion. He was last seen wearing black shorts, a teal thermal shirt and purple Converse shoes.
Brad is prone to seizures, and takes daily anticonvulsants medication. Without his medication Brad’s caregivers warn that he may become confused or have unusual episodes.
If you have seen Brad, or have any information about his whereabouts, please call Seattle Police at 206-683-8917, or call 911 and reference PD Case Number 11-109938.
Seattle PD Case Number 11-109938
Missing and exploited children 800-843-5678
NCMEC case number 1169430
Want to help in the effort to find Brad? Download the pass out the missing persons flier (.pdf) around your neighborhood.
Update 4/9 12 p.m.: As of last night Brad was still missing. His mother has set up a Facebook page where she is updating with information about sightings and tips on his whereabouts. There are also more pictures to help people recognize him. We’ll be keeping track of any news about Brad, but check the Facebook page for frequent updates.
Update 4/10 10:30 a.m.: Brad was found Saturday in Darrington. He is currently in the hospital with his family awaiting an evaluation. Brad’s family would like to thank everyone who worked to help find him for their support and assistance.
Unless the budget changes, Queen Anne will lose its crime prevention coordinator. We’ve confirmed that Terrie Johnston (pictured right) and two other coordinators in the city were told they’ll be laid off effective April 1. As for the remaining four coordinators, no one is sure if they’ll be forced to cut back on their hours or cover larger areas to fill the holes.
Crime prevention coordinators, civilian employees in the Seattle Police Department, work directly with residents doing everything from setting up block watches to going door to door to warn about recent crimes. They’d been part of the police budget up until last October, when the positions then became paid for with federal grant money that runs out in the spring.
With the help of the nonprofit Common Language Project and communications students at the University of Washington, we take a closer look at what the loss of these coordinators could mean to our neighborhoods.
A Seattle Police officer is recovering after a crash today on Queen Anne. Just before 9am, the officer was responding with lights and sirens to a burglary in progress in the 1900 block of 10th Ave West. A woman driving a Honda was traveling in front of the patrol car. As the officer moved left to go around the Honda, the woman turned left into the officer’s car. The officer was taken to Harborview for treatment. The woman wasn’t hurt and was released pending further investigation.
In the wake of the deadly officer involved shooting of a wood carver last month, many in the community questioned the training methods of the Seattle Police Department. Today, SPD invited Queen Anne View and other media outlets to get a behind the scenes look at some new training techniques being put in place along with methods currently being used.
“We did talk about deploying more tasers– using less lethal force options,” said police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb.
Officer demonstrates taser techniques
Not all Seattle Police officers carry tasers, but one new step involves arming more officers with the devices. This year, SPD says taser use has actually dropped to an average of 7 incidents a month. They credit the decrease to more people knowing about tasers and the impact they can have on the human body.
“We talk people into custody the vast amount of the time,” said Officer Chris Myers.
Another new program that is already underway requires every member of SPD to take a racial profiling course, with the goal of changing the culture in the department. Verbal judo, the use of words insteads of hands and weapons, is also being taught along with an increased emphasis on deploying crisis intervention team officers to deal with people who may have mental or medical issues.
SPD allowed the media to try out its “shoot or don’t shoot” simulator that puts officers through different scenarios. Officers also go through tactics training in real-time mock situations. After the simulations, instructors debrief the officers to find out why they reacted the way they did.
Another reporter tries out the simulator (above)
“Training has become a significant issue,” said Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer. “Every single day we’re on the job we learn something.”
Deputy Chief Kimerer will oversee a review starting next month into the fatal shooting of wood carver John T. Williams. Officials did not take questions on the specifics of the Williams case since it is still under investigation. Our newspaper partner the Seattle Times reports the U.S. Justice Department is now monitoring the case.
Summary of additions to SPD training:
Putting more tasers into the hands of officers
Racial profiling course
Verbal judo
Adding more members to the crisis intervention team
A teen who was stopped for jaywalking on Queen Anne has filed a lawsuit against Seattle Police and the city claiming he was beaten during the arrest. Joey Wilson, who was 17 at the time, was talking on his cell phone as he crossed the 600 block of W. Smith Street in July of last year. According to the lawsuit, an officer stopped him and then grabbed him by the arm when he called a family friend on the cell phone.
Photo of Joey Wilson provided to Queen Anne View by his attorney Alisa Brodkowitz.
The family friend came to the scene and videotaped the rest of the incident. That video shows three officers arresting the teen who says he suffered a broken nose and concussion. During a news conference today, the teen’s mother said her son is mentally disabled and has been in special education his entire life. The teen also read from a prepared statement.
“Before this I trusted the police. Now I am afraid they will hurt me again,” said Joey Wilson.
We spoke with the teen’s attorney, who also tells us the lawsuit includes a second incident in November of last year when an officer present during the first arrest allegedly confronted Wilson and threw him to the ground before arresting him again. Seattle Police spokeswoman Renee Witt tells our partners at the Seattle Times that the officers named in the lawsuit were all exonerated by the department’s Office of Professional Accountability. The lawsuit does not list a money amount for damages.
Seattle Police are once again cracking down on speeders on Elliott Avenue. We snapped these pictures today of the photo radar van that’s been used around the city for the past few months. Today, it’s back on Elliott near Mercer.
The van is equipped with a traffic safety camera and across-the-road radar. Depending on your speed, a ticket will cost you anywhere from $124 all the way up to $247. The ticket is mailed to you. The van is part of a pilot program that’s set to end this fall. The state legislature will then decide whether to continue the program.
The people who work directly with our neighborhood in preventing crime could soon be out of a job. The six civilian crime prevention coordinators for the Seattle Police Department, including West Precinct and Queen Anne coordinator Terrie Johnston, have been told they’ll lose their jobs next spring when grant money runs out.
The crime prevention coordinators work directly with residents doing everything from setting up block watches to going door to door to warn about recent crimes. They’ve been part of the police budget up until last October, when the positions then became paid for with federal grant money. That ends on March 31 of next year.
“We are the link between the community and the police department,” Terrie Johnston (pictured right) told us. “Patrol officers are often promoted or transfer out. We’re the ones in people’s living rooms and churches.”
Johnston and her fellow coordinators have logged hundreds of community meetings over the past year. She worries that officers and precinct bosses won’t be able to give residents one on one attention if the crime prevention coordinators are let go.
“When we’re gone, who will take the time?”
Councilmember Tim Burgess, who chairs the Public Safety and Education committee, tells us his office is closely tracking the issue as it heads toward the mayor and council. If you’d like to voice your opinions, here’s a link to the mayor and City Council.
See ratings and reviews of
